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Deadliners
The Extreme Ghostbusters investigate a string of disappearances and the appearances of Crainiac and his henchmen designed by a famous horror novelist named J.N. Kline. Cast Corpuscle Junior (Jimmy) Crainiac Corpuscle Gristle Eduardo Rivera Slimer Roland Jackson Kylie Griffin Garrett Miller Egon Spengler J.N. Kline Vathek Creations Equipment Ecto-1 Proton Pack Particle Thrower P.K.E. Meter Trap Ecto Goggles Radio Spengler's Spirit Guide Items Gore Series Locations Firehouse Tuck's Inn Bed and Breakfast Kline's Mansion Plot A waiter named Jimmy was tied down to a surgery table. He heard a cart coming towards him. Three monsters approached Jimmy. They regarded him as a blank canvas full of aesthetic infinite possibility. Jimmy pleaded with them to let him go. They ignored his cries and began their procedure. In the rec room of the Firehouse, Slimer and Eduardo watched television. Kylie and Roland were reading. The "Reader Friendly" spotlight came up on the news. It featured the famous horror novel author, J.N. Kline. Kylie didn't care for Kline and stated he gave demonology a bad reputation. Eduardo quickly hid his copy of Kline's Gore Series book. Kylie went on to say his books had no basis in reality. Garrett came down the elevator asking if there were any calls. Eduardo sarcastically informed him no calls. Garrett corrected himself and asked if anyone called for him specifically. Hair Raising Tales in particular. Eduardo was surprised to hear Garrett mention a horror magazine, the same one that gave Stephen King and J.N. Kline their starts. Garrett sent the magazine a manuscript he wrote. Everyone was surprised to learn of Garrett's literary ambitions. Garrett corrected them, he had celebrity ambitions. He wanted to get on Letterman like Kline did. Slimer turned up the volume and the report when on to reveal Kline hasn't be seen or heard in months. Some have speculated he retired or went into seclusion to write is next Gore book. Eduardo chimed in he could be dead. Egon informed the team there was a call, a code seven abduction by bipedal interdimensional corporeals in triplicate. As the team drove, they finally asked if they were in Garrett's script. Kylie confirmed they were but Eduardo revealed after a page, they died except for the "handsome one in the wheelchair." Garrett defended it as a commercial choice and promised to bring them back as ghosts in the sequel. The Extreme Ghostbusters questioned a distraught cook. He witnessed Jimmy's kidnapping without being noticed by the three monsters. The cook described one of the kidnappers as having a saw for a head. Eduardo realized the description matched Crainiac from Kline's books. Everyone else was more surprised Eduardo read kids books. Kylie scolded Eduardo for making the reference in front of the client. The cook pleaded with them to find, Jimmy - he was an innocent soul. Elsewhere, at Tuck's Inn Bed and Breakfast, a maid fixed up a room. She turned and bumped into someone. It was Jimmy, except he now looked like his captors. They weren't far behind and implored the maid to join them. At the diner, Garrett buttered up Eduardo then asked what he thought of the manuscript. Eduardo hesitated then told Garrett it stunk bad. Outside at Ecto, Roland performed a P.K.E. sweep with a pair of Ecto Goggles but he got nothing. Egon hailed Kylie on her radio and stated there was another call, about half a mile up the road. Eduardo went on to say the 40 pages had no jeopardy to hook a reader - just of Garrett blowing away ghosts and chasing women. Kylie summoned the boys. As they came to an intersection, they noticed J.N. Kline's mansion in the distance. Once they arrived at Tuck's Inn, they ran into a frightened maid. Before she could speak, they correctly guessed guy with a saw for a head. The Extreme Ghostbusters headed inside and saw a bunch of patrons tied up. Jimmy swiped at Kylie. Once they realized the monsters was Jimmy, Eduardo recognized it as an M.O. from Kline's books. Crainiac came down the steps and asked who knew his name. Eduardo was right all along and Kylie admitted her mistake in not believing him. Garrett opened fire on Crainiac and he blew up. Roland quickly asserted that wasn't supposed to happen. He was right and Crainiac regenerated. Eduardo spotted Corpuscle and Gristle. Gristle lunged at Roland while Kylie tried to reason with Jimmy. Jimmy held up a beaker and poured its contents out. Jimmy and the patrons vanished. Corpuscle grabbed Eduardo but Garrett tossed a hot tea kettle at it. Corpuscle grabbed it and scalded the eyes on his palms. Kylie realized they weren't ectoplasmic entities and couldn't be trapped. Crainiac stated if it was not written, it couldn't be done. They dropped a vial and vanished. Roland jumped into the smoke and vanished, too. The others briefly heard Roland on the radio then nothing. At Ecto-1, Eduardo speculated Crainiac, Corpuscle and Gristle could have always been around and Kline just wrote about them. Kylie leafed through Spengler's Spirit Guide and deduced they were Vathek, spectral forms who enter the realm of the living through the act of writing. If Kline wrote they were indestructible, then they were. Garrett gloated at the publicity he could get if Kline were behind it all. They soon arrived at Kline's mansion and Garrett's P.K.E. Meter lit up. As the trio explored the vast mansion, they narrowly avoided one of the inn victims, now looking like a monster. Kylie stopped Eduardo from shooting since there was no way knowing what might happen to the victim. In another part of the mansion, the maid was the latest person "re-imagined" by the Vathek. Roland was next. Kylie, Eduardo, and Garrett heard typing and followed the noise to a study. J.N. Kline was restrained to a desk and typed up a script with a typewriter. Kylie ripped a portion off and read it. The Vathek sensed it. Kline managed to tip them off, the Vathek were below the mansion. Garrett ordered Kline to write out the Vathek but Kline admitted the voices were too strong. Kylie and Eduardo raced off while Garrett tried to rewrite the script himself. Crainiac's tool was replaced with an egg. The Vathek departed the surgery room. They stumbled into the study with rabid monkeys armed with tire irons on top of them. They surrounded Kline in a circle of fire. Garrett tried to call out to Kline in vain. Kylie and Garrett freed Roland but were captured by the Vathek's victims. Crainiac implored Kline to write the demise of the Ghostbusters. Kline objected and reiterated hurting people wasn't part of the deal he made with them. They countered it was until he made them real. Crainiac added Kline gained from their alliance - wealth, fame, and success. If Kline finished the script, the Vathek would live forever. The victims brought in the other Ghostbusters. Kylie implored Garrett to destroy the text. Crainiac declared he and his parters would change the face of humanity. Eduardo ran away from Corpuscle and ascended the ladder. Garrett also got loose and rolled over a kneeling victim like it was a ramp. He landed and froze, unable to figure out how to rewrite the script. Eduardo shot the typewriter. The circle of fire formed into a vortex and sucked up the Vathek. The victims returned to normal and Kline was freed. Back at the Firehouse, Garrett slammed down another rejection notice. He was fuming Kline published another book at his expense. Kylie and Eduardo approved of the new book. Roland added his little brother liked it, too. Garrett countered they only liked it because they were all in it. Kylie agreed, they were also alive. Garrett was in it, too. He was the "loudmouthed guy in the wheelchair." Eduardo joked if twas written, it must be true. Quotes Trivia *The final draft was done in December 1996.Capizzi, Duane (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters "Deadliners" (Final Draft December 1996) (Script Title Page. *The epilogue was scripted to take place a month later.Capizzi, Duane (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters "Deadliners" (Final Draft December 1996) (Script p. 38). Line reads: "Ext. Firehouse - A Month Later." *During scripting, Kline's initials were "H.P." - a nod to H.P. Lovecraft. He was also said to be in his mid-30's.Capizzi, Duane (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters "Deadliners" (Final Draft December 1996) (Script Cast List). *Jimmy was noted to be a "Jimmy Olsen-type" - after Daily Planet photographer and Superman's pal.Capizzi, Duane (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters "Deadliners" (Final Draft December 1996) (Script Cast List p. 02). *Kline Mansion was scripted to be located in the Connecticut countryside.Capizzi, Duane (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters "Deadliners" (Final Draft December 1996) (Script p. 07). Line reads: "Ext. Connecticut countryside - Late Afternoon." *J.N. Kline is a pastiche of writer R.L. Stine, who achieved fame in the mid-1990s for his Goosebumps series, a line of horror-themed books aimed at children. Goosebumps was spun off into a TV series as well as a line of reader-controlled Give Yourself Goosebumps books. *Vathek are very similar to cenobites from Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" but have another motivation to their actions. **The designs were done with "Hellraiser" in mind.Fil Barlow deviantArt "XBG Ep 04 Gristle" reply #2 **The Vathek designs originated from Everett Peck. A combination of his ideas were used as a springboard that evolved into the final designs.Fil Barlow deviantArt "XBG Ep 04 Gristle" reply #1Fil Barlow deviantArt "XBG Ep 04 Gristle" reply #3 **Vathek is a reference to the Gothic novel Vathek. *The reporter and Garrett mentions horror writer Stephen King.News Reporter (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Deadliners (1997) (DVD ts. 2:20-2:37). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Reporter says: "Not since Stephen King has a novelist enjoyed so much wealth and recognition and blood and visera but clearly Gore sells and preteen fans crying for more."Garrett Miller (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Deadliners (1997) (DVD ts. 3:04-3:07). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Garrett says: "The very same one that gave Stephen King and J.N. Kline their starts." *Kylie calls Garrett "Hemingway," a reference to the Lost Generation writer, Ernest Hemingway.Kylie Griffin (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Deadliners (1997) (DVD ts. 3:14-3:17). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Kylie says: I didn't realize you had literary ambitions, Hemingway." *Garrett mentions TV host David Letterman.Garrett Miller (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Deadliners (1997) (DVD ts. 3:18-3:23). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Garrett says: I have celebrity ambitions! If Kline can get on Letterman I can, too." *Eduardo uses his famous line, "Maybe he's dead" in relation to J.N. Kline's mysterious seclusion and finding Roland.Eduardo Rivera (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Deadliners (1997) (DVD ts. 3:39-3:40). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Eduardo says: "Maybe he's dead."Eduardo Rivera (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Deadliners (1997) (DVD ts. 16:38-16:39). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Eduardo says: "I thought maybe you'd be dead." *While listening to Jimmy's boss at the diner, Garrett replies to his description of a saw with Black & Decker, a famous power tool brand.Garrett Miller (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Deadliners (1997) (DVD ts. 5:12-5:13). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Garrett says: "You mean, like a Black & Decker?" *Before the events of the episode, Eduardo was the only Extreme Ghostbuster who read a J.N. Kline book.Eduardo Rivera (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Deadliners (1997) (DVD ts. 5:17-5:20). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Eduardo says: "Am I the only guy who reads J.N. Kline?" *Roland mentions his younger brother reads Kline's books.Roland Jackson (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Deadliners (1997) (DVD ts. 5:27-5:29). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Roland says: "My little brother reads J.N. Kline." His young brother later appears in "Grundelesque" *Kylie interrupts Eduardo and Garrett, calling them "Iron Johns."Kylie Griffin (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Deadliners (1997) (DVD ts. 7:33-7:2935). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Kylie says: "Hey, Iron Johns, cut the guy talk." "Iron John" was the name of a Brothers Grimm tale about coming into adulthood *Gristle is able to speak well despite the fact that his lips are sewn together. *Garrett's failed writing career is referenced in his bio in Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary: Extreme Ghostbusters. External links *Spook Central has a PDF file of the final draft of "Deadliners" References Gallery Episode Screen Caps Deadliners01.jpg|Opening Scene Deadliners02.jpg|Jimmy's surgery begins Deadliners03.jpg|News Report on Kline Deadliners04.jpg|Garrett's got ambitions Deadliners05.jpg|Diner where Jimmy works at Deadliners06.jpg|Arriving at Tuck's Inn Deadliners07.jpg|Vathek disperses Deadliners09.jpg|Kylie gets answers Deadliners08.jpg|Another surgery success Deadliners14.jpg|Looking Around Deadliners10.jpg|Garrett deals with Kline Deadliners11.jpg|Garrett looks at the manuscript Deadliners17.jpg|About to operate on Roland Deadliners18.jpg|Vathek realize something Deadliners12.jpg|An Egg? Deadliners13.jpg|And Monkeys! Deadliners19.jpg|Captured Deadliners20.jpg|Garrett goes for the manuscript Deadliners15.jpg|Eduardo shoots the typewriter Deadliners16.jpg|Vathek sucked into vortex Collages and Edits RecRoominDeadlinersepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' PKESweepwithEctoGogglesinDeadlinersepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' GBvsCrainiacinDeadlinersepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' RolandvsGristleinDeadlinersepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' TucksInnBedAndBreakfastinDeadlinersepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' KlinesMansioninDeadlinersepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' GhostbustersinDeadlinersepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' JNKlineGarrettinDeadlinersepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' JNKlineinDeadlinersepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' VathekinDeadlinersepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' Category:EGB Episode